Dealings of "the Lord" That phrase carried so much weight in the cult. In reality, 99.99% of the time it was 'dealings' administered by pissed-off, controlling authority figures...devoid of compassion.

NickleandDimed Wrote:
>The dealings of the Lord were
> harsher for the member who left.

changedagain Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> pissed-off, controlling authority figures...devoid
> of compassion.
>

In the culture of the Living Word, "compassion" is a word with negative connotations.

puddington Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> changedagain Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> >
> > pissed-off, controlling authority
> figures...devoid
> > of compassion.
> >
>
> In the culture of the Living Word, "compassion" is
> a word with negative connotations.

Do you think leadership got around their lack of compassion (except for themselves) telling us they were administering the dealings of the Lord.? "If we didn't love you we wouldn't be so hard on you." So we accepted leadership's psychopathic behavior. Dividing parents from children. Damaging lives.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2017 07:23AM by NickleandDimed.

Thank you for sharing your story. I was in the walk during 72-76. I was attending church in Hood River, Or during that time but knew many who attended in Yakima. I knew John Miller very well. I was a part of Coniah church id SD during 75-76. Your story helped me even understand 40+ yrs later what was really happening during those years. Stepping out and moving on was one of the best choices I have made throughout all my years of ministry.

I remember a message given by JRS Feb 10th, 1974. Is God Enough for Me. If only that word was taken to heart by the leadership during that time. So many were focused on self and arrogance . One of many seeds planted in the walk. This is what lead to the destruction of this walk. My experience over the years has taught me that God still has a plan and purpose in each of our lives.

During my time in the walk, 72-76 I did know JRS. During those years much was hidden behind closed doors. I spent a year with the School of prophets teaching. spending a year with Coniah chapel in SD. I would not trade that year that I had with RD Conquest. He was a man of God. And yet when he finally confronted JRS he was rejected and eventually dismissed. John did not take council from his leadership staff. So many people in the walk during those days that I became friends with. So many have passed away but a few still living today in/out of the new walk today. Yet hidden behind JR was the drinking and relations he had with young women living within the sisters home. There was much deception during that time, but yet the sin nature that he carried for years ultimately cost him his life in 1983.

Last weekends School of Prophets titles from Brazil:

-WHERE DID YOUR TRUST GO?
-WE POUR OURSELVES INTO ONENESS (out of distrust)
-DO YOU TRUST GOD'S MOTIVATION
-THE SCHOOL OF PROPHETS RESTORES OUR TRUST IN OUR FATHER
-BALAAM'S COUNSEL--THE TACTIC OF SATAN

Obviously, there are trust-issues fomenting within the fellowship or they would not have been subjected to such an outright beat-down.

Caveat emptor.

Stevens' death was caused by cancer, not "the sin nature." Cancer is in no way some divine punishment, nor an indication of innate evil. It is superstitious nonsense to suggest otherwise. This is 2017, not the middle ages, and anyone can and should break open a biology book and be educated as to the physiological reasons for illness.

LampShmamp Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Stevens' death was caused by cancer, not "the sin
> nature." Cancer is in no way some divine
> punishment, nor an indication of innate evil. It
> is superstitious nonsense to suggest otherwise.
> This is 2017, not the middle ages, and anyone can
> and should break open a biology book and be
> educated as to the physiological reasons for
> illness.

Yep... I would have to agree with that. Given the option of science or superstition, I prefer science.

Badlad1955 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> During my time in the walk, 72-76 I did know JRS.
> During those years much was hidden behind closed
> doors. I spent a year with the School of prophets
> teaching. spending a year with Coniah chapel in
> SD. I would not trade that year that I had with RD
> Conquest. He was a man of God. And yet when he
> finally confronted JRS he was rejected and
> eventually dismissed. John did not take council
> from his leadership staff. So many people in the
> walk during those days that I became friends with.
> So many have passed away but a few still living
> today in/out of the new walk today. Yet hidden
> behind JR was the drinking and relations he had
> with young women living within the sisters home.
> There was much deception during that time, but yet
> the sin nature that he carried for years
> ultimately cost him his life in 1983.


I was there for the RDC rejection. The question was who owned the facilities and the people. The "people" prevailed. Whether that was fair to RD or not, I don't know, but somehow he felt that he owned all that property (and quite possibly on paper he did) the congregation picked TLW over RDC.

I was there over that same time period and got to know RDC pretty well as well. IMO he was a couple fries short of a happy meal. He may or may not have been tuned into mind of God but he was definitely tuned into the John Birch Society and several prominent conspiracy theorists of the day such as Dr. Peter Beter. A lot oh this balogna got woven into his teaching causing the more scientificly educated, more liberal thinking congregants to be put off. I pretty much wrote him off after he called a special (male only) ministries meeting one night to play a Peter Beter tape.

One thing, I learned from this whole thing (and it is backed up strongly by this forum) is that the mistake many of us made was to hold up any of these leaders as anything other than "mere mortals" just like ourselves which is all they ever were.